Maithili

Primary tabs

30,000,000 in India (2000 SIL). Population total all countries: 33,890,000. 12,000,000 monolinguals (1998).

Location

Bihar, from Muzaffarpur on the west, past Kosi on the east to western Purnia district, to Munger and Bhagalpur districts in the south, and Himalayan foothills north. Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai. Many settled abroad. Cultural and linguistic centers are Madhubani and Darbhanga towns. Janakpur also important culturally and religiously.

Used by Brahmin and other high caste or educated Hindus, who influence the culture and language, and other castes. There is a Maithili Academy. Linguistics and literature taught at Patna University and at L. N. Mithila University in Darbhanga. Home, community. Mixed attitudes. Influenced by caste, ranging from superiority to resentment. Non-Brahmin speech viewed as inferior. Hindi [hin] considered superior, Nepali [npi] generally accepted. Also use Bengali [ben], Bhojpuri [bho], English [eng], Hindi [hin], Nepali [npi].

Language Development

Literacy rate in L1: 25%–50%. Literacy rate in L2: 25%–50%. If they can read Nepali or Hindi, they can read Maithili. The educated read Hindi, Nepali, or English books for pleasure. Some literacy work in India. Poetry. Magazines. Newspapers. Radio programs. Films. TV. Videos. Dictionary. Grammar. NT: 2010.

Literacy rate in L1: 20%. Literacy rate in L2: 25%–50%. Educated read Hindi [hin], Nepali [npi], or English [eng]. If they can read Hindi or Nepali, they can read Maithili.Mother-tongue multilingual education and adult literacy programs have been carried out in Maithili communities throughout the Rajbanshi area.

Writing

Devanagari script [Deva], primary usage. Kaithi script [Kthi], used until the turn of the 20th century. Newar (Prachalit Nepal) script [Qabc], no longer in use, historic usage. Tirhuta script [Tirh], used until the turn of the 20th century.